Device for producing homogeneous or integrated artificial ice commercially



OMMERCIALLY W. NEWCOMB May 15, 1934.

DEVICE FOR PRODUCING \HOMOGENEOUS OR INTEGRATED ARTIFICIAL ICE C Original Filed March 18 192 ATTORNEY Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR PRODUCING HOMOGENEOUS OR INTEGRATED ARTIFICIAL ICE COM- MERCIALLY William Newcomb, New York, N. Y.

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the device for producing homogeneous or integrated artificial ice commercially.

One object of my invention is to provide a process which not only will facilitate and speed up artificial ice production, but which will produce cakes of ice absolutely homogeneous, and as I term it, integrated, and which cakes of ice will have the property when broken into parts,

to break over the entire width of the cake and not split into its component parts when broken.

Another object of invention is to produce a method whereby air bubbles, usually preventing ice from congealing to a solid mass, are extracted from the freezing water, whereby a more compact cake of ice is produced.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a method which will greatly shorten the time of production, without deteriorating the quality of the ice.

Another object of my invention is to provide a method whereby the solids contained in the water are caused to settle to the bottom of the future cake of ice.

A further object of my invention is to provide devices for facilitating the method of production of integrated artificial ice;

The foregoing and still other objects will be more fully apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a containe employed in my process.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a similar container but of greater width than the former.

Figure?) is a detailed view, partially in crosssection, showing an ice cake holder, as employed within the larger container.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view through an no ice cake produced by my method.

Referring to the drawing, numeral 10 denotes a container having tapered sides 11 and narrow tapering end walls 12 and a reinforcing rim at the top'of the container indicated at 13. That rim widens the upper edge of the container and serves as a seat for a gasket indicated at 14 and sets in the cover 15 which is adapted to be placed upon the top of the container and hermetically closes the latter, except for one opening in the 5 cover through which leads a pipe connection 16, by means of which the air is exhausted from covered container.

Associated with the end walls 12 and set within the container, are longitudinal, removable, hollow ice cake guides indicated at 1'7. These guides serve for providing the future ice cake with guide grooves, the purpose of which will be explained presently. These guides may be removed when only single cakes are required and they may be employed for sucking from the bottom of the containers, sediments or foreign matter contained in the water, which foreign matter is detrimental to the quality of ice.

In Figure 2 there will be seen a similar container 18, having tapered sides 19 and somewhat narrower, end walls 20. A reinforcing rim 21 is provided at the top of the container and a cover 22 is adapted to be set upon the rim 21:

A similar gasket as shown in Figure 1 but not shown in Figure 2 is intended to hermetically seal the container when covered. An exhaust pipe 23 communicates through opening 24 of the cover with the interior of the container.

To the end walls are again attached longitudinal, removable and hollow guides 25 and 26. The latter guide 26 is shown in detail in Figure 3 and contains a spring actuated ice cake holder 27, which comprises an arm 28 extending beyond guide 26 and a guide rod 29 which extends into the guide 26 and is held downwards by expansion spring 30. To prevent water from entering guide 26, and deteriorating the spring 30, or impairing the operation of ice cake holder 27, packing indicated at 31 is provided. The top of the guide 26 is perforated and the rod 29 passes through it and the upper packing 31. The spring 30 encircling the rod abuts the upper packing and a head on the lower end of the rod 29.- The lower packing 31 below the rod and spring is of course not perforated.

Guides 1'7, 25 and 26 are removable, as has been said and are held in place in any convenient manner. For the purpose of understanding, clips 32 are shown, but any other means may be employed.

Having described the devices employed in my method it will not be difiicult now to explain my process.

Can or container 10 is filled with water to about the height of the ice cake guides 17. The water 100 is permitted to stand or settle so that the sediments or foreign matter heavier than water, may drop to the bottom and when thus separated from the water, the lower portion of the water may be drawn out through the guide 17 by at- 05 taching a pump thereto, not shown in the drawing.

Now, the cover 15 is placed upon the rim of the container. The air is drawn out from the container through pipe 16, which latter is pro- 11 vided with a check valve, not shown, so that a vacuum or a partial vacuum is maintained within the container. The latter is now subjected to freezing temperature in any conventional way, as for instance, inserting it into a tank with freezing brine solution.

It will be noted that the width of the container and therefore the width of the future cake of ice is about half the size of that shown in Figure 2.

The water in container ,10 freezes ;to'a,,solid cake of ice in a certain period of time, say-in 12 hours. When, now, the water is completely frozen, can is removed from the'brine-solution, dipped into hot water so that the ice is freed from the can and the cake of ice is now removed-from container 10 and placed into container 1'8;in such a way that the grooves produced by guides 1'7 in container 10, are utilized to guide the ice cake into container 18, where guides and 26 take-the place of guide 17 of the smaller container, and enter saidgrooves.

If by any chance, the grooves formed in the cake'byguides 17 should not exactly coincide with the guides 25 and 26 of container 18, the

latter guides may be adjusted within their clips -32-so that thecake-of ice is held approximately centrally withincontainer 18.

Preferably the guides 17, 25 and 26 are secured to the inner faces of thecans 1D and 18 by means which donotprojectbut leave the guidessmooth over their entirelength to facilitate removal of the ice after formation thereof.

*Prior to inserting the smallercake of ice which is indicated in the-broken lines at 33, the arm '28 of the ice cake holder is lifted and turned outwards of the container as indicated in dashed and dotted'lines in Figure 2.

When the cake is inserted in container 18, the

arm 28 is placed on topof cake 33 which is now held solid between the guides 25 and 26. Then the water is poured into-container 18 until the top surface of the water reaches the top surface of thecake 33. The cake 33 being held by arm 28 ofthe 'ice'cake holder-cannot float upward as would be the case if the cake would be free to move. It is well'known that the buoyancy of ice in water causes about 1/9 of theheight of the iceto protrude above the water.

Now, the water is permitted to settle. The sediments are drawn offthrough one of the hollow guides, for instance, that marked 25, and

the container is refilled-to the previous level.

Then, the cover 22 is placeduponthecontainer, ermetically seals the same, and the air is drawn through pipe 23 from within the container, thus creating apartial vacuum therein. Pipe 23 is also provided with a check valve, not shown, adapted *to prevent air from entering-the container when the vacuum is formed therein. The

containeris then subjected tofreezing.

bubbles which usually form upon the surface of the smaller ice cake and separate the latter from the surrounding ice now forming, are withdrawn fromthe. container through the formation of vacuum'therein, whereby the large ice cakeso solidifiesand congeals with the small ice cake, that the ice then1bec0mes an.,absolutely homogeneous and integrated mass.

The fact'that in my method-contrary-to heretofore employed processes, the water is frozen without agitation and under vacuum, the objectionable impurities in the ice are not distributed throughout the entire cake, or are not reposing at the. center:of:the cake, butremainat the bottom, and may be readily removed.

Besides the fact that these ice pieces are separated, the smaller ice cake having been permitted "toifioat in the water, protrudes above the later formed ice cake making the handling of the ice quite difficult and even dangerous.

When the cake is to be divided, as is usually the case when delivery is made, it will be found that .artificiallice, produced by heretofore used methods, will part at the air spaces formed, and fall .into small, irregular pieces.

.In'li'igure .4, there will be seen the product obtained through employing my method in connection with the devices shown in the drawing.

A perfectly solid continuous piece of ice is 'formed which isas homogeneous as if the'ice had beenformed in one mass. The advantage of my method will be readily evident from thefollowing comparison. Y

In making artificial ice in single large containers, similar to that shown in Figure 2, the'time required for freezing the Water is about 48 hours, and the product obtained shows that only the walls are properly solidified, while the interior of the ice remains liquid or soft and invariably leaves a hollow space.

The solids, sediments and impurities in the thus produced large cake, remain in the ice and the ice itself is porous and full of air bubbles and consequently not solid.

The other method of makingice in two freezing periods similar to mine, produces an unsolidifiedcake of ice also full of air bubbles and an air space between the two portions of ice.

My method produces a solid, homogeneous cake, without air bubbles or with as few airbubbles as is humanly possible. Such an ice cake, 'willfirstly, be cheaper and quicker in production, willbe readily dividable into any parts without splitting irregularly, and will consume a 'comparatively smaller space'for its weight which is commercially of great importance.

When a number of small containers as shown in Figure 1 and large containers as shown in Figure 2, are operated at one time, a continuous and very rapid-production may be achieved, consumingabout M of the time heretofore used for the same quantity and producing a much better quality of ice.

WhileI-haveshown a specific form of my device in the'drawing, be it understood that any equivalent-thereto may be employed without departing from the broad scope of my invention for which I claim.

1. In a device for-making integrated artificial ice, a container, longitudinal, removable guides within said container, ice cake-holding means associated'with at least one of the guides normally extending into said container and capable of beingmoved out of the container, an air tight cover forsaid container and means associated therewith for facilitating exhausting air from said container.

2. In a device'for making artificial ice, a container having at least two sloping side walls, longitudinal, hollow and removable guides disposed within said container, ice cake holding means associated with atleast one of said guides and normallyextending into said container, but capable of being swung out of said container, a re- 4. In a device for making artificial ice, including a general tapered container equipped with longitudinal, hollow adjustable guides and a hermetically closeable cover, an ice cake holder for keeping a cake of ice submerged in water, said holder associated with one of the guides and comprising a swingable arm, a spring controlled rod associated with said arm, and means of preventing water from entering the hollow space of the guide where said holder operates.

WM. NEWCOMB. 

